Sons of Anarchy welcomes new villain

Fans of FX's Sons of Anarchy have gotten used to some terrific villains during the series run, but season five's might take the cake.

Harold Perrineau plays Damon Pope, a wealthy, ex-drug kingpin from the streets. He heads to Charming after Tigg (Kim Coates) accidentally runs down his daughter.

“I think I’m the last person you think could play this character,” said Perrineau, who starred on Lost and Oz, as well as The Matrix.

“For me, it’s not that hard because it’s not that different from Lost because I’m playing a grieving father,” Perrineau says. “This is just a grieving father with means and a bit of a mean streak.”

Pope isn't just another biker dude. He wears expensive suits, drives in a fancy automobile and prides himself on staying ahead of the curve.

Denzel Washington's character Frank Lucas from American Gangster served as inspiration to Perrineau.

“There are a bunch of guys like that in New York – because that’s where I grew up – that I sort of take little bits and pieces from here and there,” said Perrineau. “A lot of those old school gangland guys, those guys who end up not dying but retiring. I did a lot of work and research about those guys.”

Pope might be sticking around Charming for quite a while.

“What happens is, he ends up being more of a mentor to Jax (Charlie Hunnam),” he added. “It’s really odd in how that happens. In tragedy, sometimes you make odd connections.”

Season five of Sons of Anarchy premieres tonight at 10 p.m. EST on FX.